Abstract
Fluoride (F - ) intake with drinking water is a severe problem in several places in India including arid region of Punjab, North-West, India. Moderate amounts lead to dental fluorosis, but long-term ingestion of large amounts can lead to potentially severe skeletal problems. Keeping in view this fact, a study was planned to know the status of F - content in ground water of south western districts of Punjab and its relationship with other quality parameters. For this purposes, ninety-two ground water samples were collected in October 2009 from shallow aquifers and analyzed for fluoride and various other quality parameters. Fluoride content varied from 0.28 to 14.04 mg L -1 with a mean value of 5.15 mg L -1 . The elevated pH, dissolved salts, alkali metals (Na + , K + ) and anions (Cl - , HCO3 - and SO4 2- ) were accompanied by higher mean, median, 75 th and 90 th percentile fluoride concentration in groundwater. The concentration of fluoride declined with increasing concentration of calcium. Considering the World health organization safe limit of fluoride (1.5 mg L -1 ), 60 % of the total water samples collected were unfit for drinking purposes. From irrigation point of view, our results indicated that 86 % of the water samples are having F - content less than 10 mg L -1 which is the safe limit for all types of crop plants. The exposure doses to fluoride from ground water were also estimated for infants, children and adults. The maximum exposure dose to fluoride for the adults in the study area was 35 times higher than the minimum risk level proposed by Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's (ATSDR's MRL), indicating need of further research in this area.
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